ECO summit in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad was the venue for Mr. Rouhani to grasp the opportunity to meet Erdoğan. This is the highest ranking meeting between two regional rivals since the unsuccessful coup of July 2016 which sought to topple Turkish government.

The meeting was significant in that Iran and Turkey had been on changing terms over Syria. Earlier in January, Turkey joined the Iran-Russia-led front in Syria in Moscow trilateral meeting, followed by Astana second session to which also Ankara participated. However, relations had become tense where Turkish officials including Erdoğan himself accused Iran of promoting Shia cause in Syria, to which Iran retorted, saying that Iran’s patience would not be unlimited for Turkish remarks which muddied ties.

Rouhani and Erdoğan discussed terrorism among the important topics of the meeting. The visit would be a turning point in bringing relations to a détente after Tehran-Ankara ties edged with distrust.